


Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

by emma_and_orlando



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Genderbending, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes AU, Gold Digging, Light Angst, Multi, Smut, Women In Power, fem!queen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:00:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29312964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emma_and_orlando/pseuds/emma_and_orlando
Summary: In 1952 famous nightclub performers Regina and Melina have to keep their relationship hidden. As part of the act, Regina tries to secure herself the richest possible man.Private detective John Deacon is hired to uncover her gold digging.
Relationships: Freddie Mercury/Roger Taylor, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 12





	Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PumpkinLily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PumpkinLily/gifts).



> This is based on the best Marilyn Monroe movie ever made, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. An absolute classic, now made into the sapphic novel it was supposed to be. 
> 
> **You don’t need to know the movie to get the story.**
> 
> There is nothing you need to know other than, it is the 1950’s
> 
> Freddie = Melina  
> Roger = Regina
> 
> This is dedicated to the lovely Lily, who not only loves to scream about froger with me, but also about Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Thank you fot being such a supportive and sweet friend.

Melina watches from a distance as Regina is whisked away by reporters, wanted ever so much for interviews and a picture. 

Her face has gone around America several times over, along with the rest of her body on the cover of the 'golden dreams' pin-up calendar. 

Regina hadn't done it alone, of course. Their night club act is what made them both overnight sensation. 

They went from small New York club gigs to becoming known staples of the scene. 

Melina thinks fondly of a time when they were forced to take up any opportunity thrown their way; no matter how shitty the club, the dressing room or the manners of the men who came to watch. All of that to pay for their humble one-bedroom apartment on Amsterdam Avenue. 

That was before they got tailored, matching costumes dripping with jewels and rhinestones, hairdressers and the best quality makeup of New York City. 

That was before they had their own fully supported acts and before reporters would come from all around the country to ask them questions, pointless and simple, as were expected of women's magazines and gossip folders. 

" _Miss Taylor, where is it that you buy your lipstick_?"

Regina tips her chin up, facing the camera from a tilted angle, to accentuate her imaginative better side. She smiles wide and blank for the photograph. After the blinding flash, she turns to the female reporter, her face remaining bare. "Ruby Red by Max Factor is my signature look, has been for many years."

" _Miss Taylor, miss, as a young woman from a small town... Eh_ —"

"Little Rock." Regina fills in for the male reporter a few paces sat from her table. In the mass of people and without her glasses she can't even see him, but seems unphased by the lacking sense. In his general direction, she continues to speak in her airy, high pitched voice. 

Her 'man' voice, as Melina likes to call it. 

"Arkansas."

" _Right, thank you_." He scribbles it down on his notepad. " _Have you got any advice for other small-town girls, who wish to make it in the big city_?"

A more genuine smile curls the corners of Regina's red lips upwards. 

She leans forward in her chair until she is seated at the edge, as if to share a secret between her and him alone, not with the swarm of journalists who are hanging at her lips as she speaks. 

"It took me years to find my footing in New York City, I roamed around like a little lost lamb until I realized one crucial thing," She pauses for dramatic effects. Melina rolls her eyes fondly at herself when she realizes that she had subconsciously stepped away from the wall to hear what Regina would have to say to the inquiring reporter. "That men are the same way everywhere."

There is a round of laughter, mostly coming from the small handful of female reporters who had wrangled their way into this world fighting tooth and nail. The men have gone stiffly silent. No notes are being taken.

Regina remains ever oblivious to their disapproval, or she so cleverly chooses to ignore it. 

"I read your column last week, the ' _making marriage work_ ' piece, written by you, I assume." The reporter is taken aback that she had recognized him. Melina finds it quite the accomplishment that Regina always refrains smugness from showing outward to embarrass the men on the spot. "Here is some advice I would like to share with your readers."

She crooks her finger towards herself to beckon the reporters closer to herself. Her allure, beauty and charm works them out of their discontent state.

"Find a gentleman, who is shy or bold. Or short or tall. Or young, _or_ old." She curls her hand underneath her chin as she leans on the table. "As long as the guy's a millionaire."

Having had enough, Melina pushes herself away from the wall to find her way through the masses into their dressing room. She needs to get the hell out of this corset. 

-

> **For a kid from the small street I did very well on Wall Street, though, I never owned a share of stock.**

-

"Mel?"

Regina peeks her head into the dressing room, face flushed and shiny from being amongst the crowd of reporters for too long. 

In the meantime, Melina had shrugged herself out of her matching red dress and feather headpiece, to be stored away for their next performance. She sits at her vanity, looking at Regina through the reflection of her mirror. "Are you quite done making a fool of yourself for the of whole America?"

"Not quite." Regina smiles kindly, her eyes soft in their silent apologetic nature that she somehow hides from everyone but her. 

"Mel, I came to ask if I can bring Mr Beach in?"

She tries not to let the sour taste in her mouth show on her face. She opts instead for sarcasm, adjusting her hair in the mirror so she doesn't have to look at Regina anymore. "What's the rush? He's not going anywhere."

"He wants to announce our engagement to you, make it official..." 

Melina pauses although she doesn't stop trying to curl her hair back into shape with her fingers, as is possible with the power of hairspray and her natural texture. "You could have warned me earlier that he would tell me tonight."

"I didn't know- honest." Regina puts a hand over her heart. "Didn't you notice? His pocket was bulging. It was square-shaped, like the box for a ring." 

"I think you are the only girl in the world who can perform with a spotlight in her eye and still see a diamond in a man's pocket."

When Melina provides no other answer or reaction, positive or otherwise, to the news, Regina forces herself to stop fidgeting and stands her ground. 

"It's secured now. If he wants to finally give me the ring and wear it openly, it must be."

The words are somehow both full of hope and filled with a deep sense of sadness. Melina stops looking at her. Damnit. Every time they talk about Mr Beach and their inevitable engagement, it makes her tear up. 

"Well with the cruise to Paris this weekend, I thought it already was secured."

A moment passes by and suddenly, two familiar arms wrap around Melina's waist and pull her flush against Regina's front. Whereas they both crave a kiss, they couldn't explain to Mr Beach or the mop of reporters how Regina's lipstick could end up slobbered all over Melina, so they settle for a gentle touch. Regina running her nose against the side of Melina's face. 

"Don't be upset with me." Regina whispers against her skin. "Please."

This had been their plan ever since they had left Little Rock, with only their clothes on their backs and their piggy bank savings to get themselves to New York City. As teenagers when they had fallen into a deep, unending, serious love, they had already known a relationship of their nature was doomed for what it was deemed by society. 

Liking the finer things in life, they had come up with the plan to remain the closest friends for the rest of their lives, while they find themselves men, to keep them clothed and fed, but each other to remain loved and devoted to. 

These things always sound better in theory than in reality. As jealousy stings and resentment builts from both sides. 

They had spoken about becoming neighbours with connecting doors to each other's houses. They talked about double weddings or dating a twin set of brothers, to intertwine their lives as much as they could get away with. 

But deep down, they wanted to share one house, hold one wedding and marry nobody but each other. 

Not in 1952 that is. 

"I'm calling Mr Beach in." Regina promptly untangles her arms from their embrace. "And please, Mel, do be nice."

"I'm always nice." She retorts at Regina through the mirror. 

Regina gives her a long disapproving look before disappearing out of their dressing room to find her fiancé. Melina forces herself not to vomit in her mouth at the title. 

A moment too soon, Regina comes skitting back into the dressing room, veiling her face with a smile so fake and obnoxious, Melina is instantly reminded of her advantage over Mr Beach, as the young man in his fine suit knocks before he enters and Regina's face turns ever more blank from any emotions beyond the surface. 

"Good evening, Mr Beach. Won't you pray, come in?" 

"I'd love to." He says with a sheepish hunch in his back upon entering the ladies dressing room, although both of them are fully dressed. He turns his attention briefly on Melina, when he can spare not drooling after Regina and her stuffed cone bra. "Evening, Melina." 

"Good evening Jim." 

There is a cool quality to their exchanges, something Melina understands but Jim doesn't very much. Although he never gives the thought longer than several seconds, before turning back to Regina. 

"You were spectacular tonight, simply wonderful. You were magnificent, I could watch you perform every day and if I didn't have to work, I would." He gushes with his hands held cradled to his chest in praise.

Regina tips her chin up, although they don't differentiate much in height. Not when she is in heels. "Thank you ever so, we make for a wonderful duo, Mel and I. Don't we, sugar?"

Jim at least gets one thing right, and that is the sense that Melina is his direct competition when it comes to her.

His face remains stoic and neutral as he turns to Melina. "Yes, you were good too."

Melina had been watching the conversation all through the mirror with her back turned to the two faux lovebirds as they stand near the door. She is about to reply when both her and Regina's eyes are drawn to Mr Beach's hand as he reaches into the pocket of his pants to reveal that square box Regina had been gushing over.

He makes no show of opening the little velvet case and reveal the wedding band with a large, obnoxious diamond on the top.

Regina's eyes widen a fragment at the sight of the ring as she picks it from the box to put it on her finger. 

"Oh Mr Beach!" She fawns, in that high, airy, dumbed-down voice. 

His smugness grows ever much at her delightful response. "Is it the right size?"

Mirth sparkles in the blues of Regina's eyes that reflect onto the shimmering diamond ring. She extends her arm elegantly towards Melina, saying, "Well a diamond can never be too big. Mel, do you think it's too small?" 

Melina bites back a smirk as Mr Beach begins to stutter. "Oh, well, I meant... Does it fit your finger?"

" _Oh_!" Regina redacts her hand back to her own face to give it another look. "Yes, it fits perfect."

She has been teasing him for one second too long, she knows. To reward him for putting up with her, she grabs him by the collars of his jacket and pulls him flush against herself. "Oh sugar, I bet you'd make me the happiest girl in the world."

Mr Beach gulps for air just before Regina closes the distance between them to kiss him square on the lips. 

He always wears this bedazzled look when she pulls away after only a couple of seconds. 

He blinks feverishly, as if struck by a magic spell.

While Melina knows Regina's kisses are good, better than anyone else's, they're not otherworldly and definitely not worth losing coherence over. 

"I don't know what you do honey, unless you use novocaine in your lipstick."

Her comment gets ignored, which might just be for the best. Regina is still clasping onto Jim's suit as she turns to Melina with a more real smile than before. "Mr Beach, may I tell Melina?"

"If you wish." He mumbles as he staggers out of his post-kiss daze. 

Ignoring his tone, Regina fully turns to Melina with her ring on full display. "Mel, Mr Beach and I are going to be married." 

She can't help herself. "To each other?"

"Of course to each other." Mr Beach cuts in, fumbling with his suit that Regina had rumbled up. "Who else to?"

The teasing has got to come down a notch, or Jim would never allow Melina to come with Regina as a chaperone on the cruise. "Well, I don't know about you, Jim, but I always figured Regina would end up with the secretary of the Treasury."

"Melina, guess what. On Saturday Mr Beach and I will be on a cruise to Paris." Regina says without even hinting towards the fact that they had spoken about this in detail, every single day, for the past few months. "To get married in Europe... And we were wondering if you wanted to come as our chaperone."

Mr Beach's eyes bulge in surprise. Likely he had been looking forward to having Regina for himself for their weeks, together on the ship and then in Paris, until the wedding.

Other guests will have to fly over for the occasion, but Melina knows deep down that Regina would never step foot on that ship and go to another continent without Melina, not even for her own wedding. If that means keeping their little plan a secret until the very last moment, so be it. There is no way Jim can tell them no now. Perhaps he will scold Regina for not mentioning this chaperone idea to him in private first, but he wouldn't dare to chase her off now, this close to the wedding. 

He looks down at his Italian leather shoes uncomfortably. His hands itching at his sides. "Well, we- I wasn't..."

There is a knock on the door. 

"Come in." Melina calls out, happy to talk over Jim's babbling. 

One of the club's staff members comes into the dressing room looking directly for Jim. "Mr Beach, a long-distance call for you from Dayton, Ohio."

His eyes widen and he steps forward to follow the man out the door. "Thank you very much, sir. I will be right there..." He pauses to turn to Regina and give her a worried look. "That must be father... I hope everything is alright- I'll meet you at my table later, dear."

Before Regina can bother to open her mouth to respond, he is out the door and out of sight.

He is a longterm project of Regina's. 

She has been slaving away at this engagement for months trying to get into the Beach's family fortunes, much to Jim's family's disapproval. Melina isn't sure if it is the semi-nude calendars, the semi-nude performances or the whole gold digger spiel that puts them off about Regina. 

Either way, a phone call from Jim's father, Dr Beach, this close to their cruise this weekend, can only mean bad news for her.

However much Melina hates to see Regina marry another, she knows how hard she's worked at this. 

"Never misses Jim's old man, right on cue..." She approaches Regina and wraps an arm around her cinched waist and her chin on her shoulder. "I'm sorry honey."

Turning slightly in their embrace, Regina reveals a full-on smirk on her pretty pace. "Nothing is going wrong this time." 

"... Reg, that man will do anything to keep you from marrying his son. I'm sorry honey, but it's true." 

Shrugging her off, Regina steps away from her to start undoing her uncomfortable costume. Starting with her elaborate matching jewellery. Her bracelets, the necklace and earrings, but of course keeping the new ring on. 

Melina sighs deeply and comes to stand behind her to zip her out of her ruby red dress. Dripping in rhinestones and shimmering sequin. 

"We are going to Paris with, or without Mr Beach. And we are not coming back until he's coming there to get me..." She says in that determined voice that stands for no objection, not even from Melina. 

The red dress slips down her shoulders and Regina reaches to balance herself on Melina's arm as she steps out of it. Once she is freed from it, standing only in her cone bra, corset and stockings, she turns to Melina fully and presses herself close to her. 

"And Mr Beach, ever predictable, he will come. And when we are in Paris, where his father can't phone him every day... The marriage will succeed."

Melina is starting to warm up to the idea, maybe one bit too much. A few weeks alone with Regina on a cruise ship and maybe a few weeks longer in Paris would not be something she'd object to. 

"There is no way Jim would let you go to Paris alone." 

A sly curl of Regina's lips promises otherwise. "Sometimes Mr Beach finds it really difficult, to say no to me."

"... Well that's very possible."

Regina pushes forward and brings her lips right up to Melina's. They can do that at the end of the evening, when they are about to take all the makeup off. It is exactly what Melina needs after seeing Jim all over her today, and her wearing Jim's obnoxious ring. 

"Maybe in France, we can secure you a wealthy man, too." Regina says as soon as they pull apart. 

Melina refuses to say that she would never date a Frenchman to Regina's face, knowing she would get ripped to shreds for the confession. Instead, she says, "Isn't one wealthy man in our relationship one too many?"

"I don't want to live in a palace, while you live in a bungalow next door. Whatever would the neighbours say?"

Melina snorts, a true sound of amusement before she closes the distance between them again and smears Regina's lipstick around, make her appear just a little less perfect. 

-

> **I was young and determined to be wined and dined and ermined. And I worked at it all around the clock.**

-

SS Île-de-France, is a magnificent Titanic vision of a boat. 

Its white decks are polished to shine under the beaming sun and the three large funnels expel hot steam from the belly of the ship. Its luxurious interior will surely match the outside spectacle. 

The ships gangway is already being walked up and down by passengers and their farewell saying friends or employees aiding them with their luggage.

John Deacon himself has very little to carry in his suitcases. They are mostly there for show and keep up his image of a rich businessman. 

"There you are." Grey suit with a light-brown hat and moustache. The informant is small, like Dr Beach had described and when he removes the hat, even smaller. "Thought you would be late."

John doesn't make a comment on the wrong speculation. 

He is used to people questioning his professionalism, although he never gave them a reason to. In his line of work, people are rightfully suspicious of him. 

"Here is your ticket and some money, it should be enough to cover any extra expenses, in case you need to bribe or a favour from someone." John takes the sealed envelope and slides it into his jacket in one swift movement. 

The mans honey green eyes remain fixed on one spot in the distance. John follows his gaze until it lands on what he assumes is the target. "They're over there at the passport desk, Dr Beach wants your eyes on the blonde. Anything you can get on her, _anything_ at all, will be sufficient."

She's not his type, naturally. The pyridoxine blonde hair, along with the overdrawn lips and flashy jewellery is the last thing he finds attractive in a woman. She stands tall and proud beside Dr Beach's naive son. Towering over him in every sense of the word, with her black pumps and feather hat. She wears a leopard print fur shawl and a matching muff in her hands, preventing her from lending Jim Beach and his assistant a hand in carrying her luggage on deck. 

She will be easy enough to keep an eye on. John will only have to follow the stench of male hormones and drool to find her as every man on the docks is drawn towards her shimmering smile and perfect posture.

Jim Beach grows uncomfortable at the many spectators, people recognizing his fiance from her scandalous performances and photographs. Yet she bats no eye at the attention, she holds her chin up high and hooks her arm with that of the dark-haired woman beside her. 

"Who is she?" 

John's mouth goes dry. 

The finest face he's ever lain eyes upon. Soft inviting eyes, but sharp, sculpted cheekbones that'd put Greek Goddesses to shame. She is dressed no less modest than her friend, in her tight red two-piece suit and round hat, but John can't seem to give a damn about the clothing. She is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. 

"Melina Mercury, just a co-worker and her chaperone, shouldn't be a problem." The informant assures him. "You have all the equipment we have send you?"

The photo camera's and state of the art microphone and tape recorder had been send to him in unmarked packages over the course of two weeks. They are now all packed up safely in his suitcase. Dr Beach had also provided him three tailor-made suits, for him to blend in with the crowd of American aristocracy on board. 

If he wants to spy on Miss Taylor, he needs to get as close as possible. 

"I have it."

They exchange a final look before John picks up his suitcases and walks up to the girls by the passport desk. 

While he waits in line along with several other's, he strains to overhear the conversation between the trio, Mr Beach, Miss Taylor and Miss Mercury. 

A group of men in blue jacketed uniforms block his direct sight on them, but the lady in red who his eyes had fallen on, speaks loud enough for the whole state to hear.

"Excuse me, sir, but who's all the talent in the blue jackets... That's not a band, is it?"

She had pulled one of the men working on the crowd and organize the queue aside to ask the question. He seems fatigued by the job, but doesn't mind taking a breather in the presence of the mysteriously gorgeous women. 

"No Miss, that's the Olympic team. They're sailing with you on this ship."

"The Olympic team." Melina's eyes glide over to the muscular, rather burly men standing right behind her. Something truly playful twinkles her eyes. "For me? Now wasn't that thoughtful of somebody."

Regina, the one John should actually be paying attention to, her pretty face falters at the senseless comment. She nudges Melina in the side before the smile plasters back upon her face. On-time for Mr Beach's growing nerves to hit a limit.

"Melina Mercury, may I remind you that you are supposed to be the chaperone on this trip."

He looks ridiculous, really, carrying the four boxes of presents stacked upon each other and his valet trailing behind him with a fruit basket, likely all for her. 

They each pause and turn to him with equally blank faces. Melina quickly recovers, finding herself stepping right into his space and pointing a finger at him. Their dynamic becoming ever more puzzling. "Now let's get this straight, Jim, the chaperone's job is to see nobody else has fun, but nobody chaperones the chaperone."

"Meli-!"

"That's why I am so right for this job." She flicks her fur black shawl over her shoulder and curls an arm around Regina to whisk them over to the ship. Successfully shutting Mr Beach up. 

He follows after the pair with a mix of pent up frustration and a bundle of nerves. If John doesn't succeed in providing the evidence of the blondes intentions with him, this will be what the rest of his life is going to look like. 

The Olympic team gets their passports checked and John follows suit. All of them boarding the cruise ship for the voyage to Paris. 

-

> **Bye-bye baby. Remember you're my baby, when they give you the eye.**

-

Turns out, Melina was right about Jim's father after all.

He had insisted Jim would help on a business meeting to take place next Wednesday, a very important one, with new investors of some sorts. Therefore he won't be sailing with them to Paris just yet. 

Whatever Dr Beach thinks he is doing, trying to stall their wedding, won't work in the long run. 

Jim _will_ miss her and _will_ come and get her in Paris, as she had said, she shall only return to America a married woman. 

It is entirely up to Mr Beach how long he will leave her in Paris from under his supervision. It is _entirely_ up to him how long he can go without her affection and how long he trusts her not to lose interest in a dead-end relationship. 

It may not seem that way from his father's gueless perspective. Who might think his son will lose interest once his eye is off to price, but Regina finds herself confident that she holds better odds.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Especially if her face is plastered across every poster and magazine in the United States.

Ever so desperately loyal, Mr Beach struts after her with his arms full of goodbye presents.

A french-speaking staff member leads the way to her private cabin. He opens the door for her with a lingering smile. "Right in here, mademoiselle."

"Thank you."

The interior is as opulent as the rest of the ship. Although already furnished to her taste. 

There is a master bedroom with a bed, a closet, sizable bathroom with large mirrors and a vanity, there is also a lounge area looking out onto the deck and beyond that, the ocean. With a phonograph, two couches, an armchair and a minibar. They brought in her suitcases already and put the silk bedding over the mattress, which she had requested upon the purchase of her ticket. She also finds several of Melina's suitcases piled atop of each other in the second bedroom. That simply won't do.

"Dear?" Mr Beach's voice sounds a little on edge with worry. Regina realizes she had been staring off into the guest bedroom for one moment too long. 

She turns on her heel just as he puts her presents on the nearby coffee table. 

"Well, it's just like a room isn't it?" She breathes in delight. Then stretches her arm out with an air of bewilderment, "Oh look! Round windows."

Satisfied with her nonsensical answer, Mr Beach nods. "Yes, dear. They sure are." 

After taking the fruit basket from his valet, Mr Beach puts it down along with the rest of his presents for her. His mood has grown heavy and dreary, as is to be expected. This was supposed to be their pre-honeymoon. Now he is stuck in the States while she goes abroad, to where should have been their wedding soon.

He had insisted again and again that he will follow swiftly, by plane, to be there in a whim. Still, the disappointment stung him like a bees sting. Poisoning his moods for the last days they'd prepared for the trip. 

Mr Beach always has this pinched look on his face whenever they have to part. Today it seems to have amplified to a pinched physical movement. Drawing his shoulders down and his knees too.

"Regina, I need to talk to you-"

People are peeking into her new cabin, men who had followed them from the pier onto the ship. She doesn't mind, the door locks if she needs it to. The only problem was that none of them are Melina.

"Where is Mel?" She asks, interrupting her fiancé mid-sentence. 

His pinched expression does anything but improve. "I don't know. Someone whistled at her and she disappeared..." He draws his eyes down. "I hope she won't be a bad influence on you."

"Oh no, sugar. Melina is not bad. Honest! She's just dumb."

If Melina was in the room, she would have been tackled to the floor now and demanded she'd take it back. Regina might play into the dumb woman trope, but that was not Melina's tact. 

Mr Beach does not protest at the statement, which Regina does find offensive on her friends' behalf.

"Always falling in love with men just because they're handsome. I keep telling her, it is just as easy to fall in love with a rich man, as a poor man." She takes off her fur shawl and then her hat, leaving both perched on the couch while she strolls into her bedroom to give it another approving look. Mr Beach follows after her. "She says 'yes, but, if they're tall, dark and handsome'. She never gets around the vital statistics until it is too late." 

There is some truth to the story, much to Regina's regret. Melina had always looked for men she found attractive when Regina insisted she'd find someone to draw attention from their same-sex attraction. Regina saw practicality in dating men with money, while Melina wanted someone she could bear looking at, even though she had Regina to look at. 

She had stared off into space again, her gloved hand swipes over the pale pink bedding. Double bed. Good. 

She doubts the other bedroom will be used at all.

Mr Beach is standing very close to her when she turns to face him once more, although now stripped down to simply her dress and shoes. 

"That's why I am her best friend, I guess. She really needs someone like I to educate her."

"Yes," Mr Beach has the decency to bite back a smile, although he can't quite keep the laughter out of his eyes. "but very few girls have your _wonderful_ willingness to learn."

She smiles through his condescending tone. "I suppose that's true."

From the corner of her eye she catches him fumbling with his coat. It appears to be an envelope, sealed of course. 

"Dear, have you ever heard of a letter of credit?"

She stares blankly at him. "Oh, you've already started writing to me before I left, thank you-"

"N-no, dear. A letter of credit is like money."

"Money?" She pauses as he hands over the envelope. 

"I want you to put it in a safe place and in Paris, you can take it to any bank in exchange for money." He needlessly continues to elaborate. 

Regina pretends to be as fascinated as she could be and stores the credit under her pillow for now, before finding a better hiding place. She turns back to him and pushes her body right up to his. 

She likes to hold onto his suit when they are like this, giving him the sense he is taller even though he barely is. Her eyes are heavily lidded under the weight of her faux lashes. She smiles, presenting herself up close and as perfectly as she can. 

"Make sure to write me every day... I'll be so lonesome. If only you could come with me, so we could be married and-"

Regina's lips are ever close to brushing against Mr Beach's when her eyes are drawn suddenly to a man with brown hair and thin down-curled lips standing in the doorway, looking around right into the room mild interest. 

She pushes away from Mr Beach to give the strange man a pointed look. 

He only stops when their eyes meet. "Sorry," He says without an ounce of an apologetic nature. "wrong room."

Just as he pushes away from the doorpost, he nearly bumps into Melina wrestling through the gathered group of people to get inside. 

He checks her out, his light brown eyes gliding down her beautiful curves and cinched waist. 

Melina wrangles past him into their cabin, although she stares after him as he turns around and leaves, whistling casually down the hallway with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Who was that?" Melina asks immediately as she enters the bedroom too. 

"A stranger, he has the wrong room." Mr Beach is thoroughly unamused to have his kiss so rudely interrupted. Regina would have cared more, was her position with him not so secured, and if she wasn't so much more concerned with where Melina had been hanging around. 

"Well, he's good looking. I hope he's not just seeing someone off."

"Melina..." Regina pipes out. That suit and odd haircut. That man is new money, if that. Perhaps _starting_ money. No good, in other words. 

Melina doesn't seem to be in the mood for either of them. "Quite a nice place we have here." She sweeps her eyes over their cabin, does a double-take at the space, before turning back to the entrance to invite everyone waiting right outside, to enter. "Hello fellows, come on in!" 

She turns to Mr Beach and Regina with a man on each arm and a dozen more gathering around her. "Folks, meet the relay team."

At being addressed by men, Mr Beach nods respectfully at their mix of hellos. "How do you do."

"We're going to have ourselves a little, bon voyage party." She hip-checks the man on her right side. "Why don't you find a good song to put on the phonograph, while I get us some glasses." A little louder to the rest of the group, she says, "Everyone please come on in, make yourselves at home." 

It only takes second for their room to be filled up with men in blue jackets, some of whom are black people, which does seem to put Mr Beach more on edge, and women in beautiful dresses, twirling around to join them in the room.

Melina walks by them to reach for the bar and find some of the bottles of liquor to pass around, along with some matching glasses. 

Regina keeps her lips shut perfectly as she is bypassed. She knows that they, Mel and Jim are playing a game. Although Mr Beach always has trouble catching up.

"Melina!" He warns, following after her. "I'm counting on you to keep those athletes to yourself." 

"What a coincidence, that's my plan too."

Regina watches her as she mingles back into the small gathering of people, waving around the bottle after the glasses, filling them up as she goes, a smile so fake and forced it must be hurting her cheeks as she charms up to all of the men at once. 

Mr Beach watches her, with an ever-increasingly alarmed look. Regina wishes she could get away with looking at Melina like that. 

But not when she is around Jim, not when she was the one to insist Melina find herself a man too. 

She is looking again, at how the men grab at her girlfriends' arm and from her shoulder to her bared neck. Her hair had been done up, and now falls into a curled updo down her ears, leaving her neck exposed. She is ever beautiful, breathtaking. Regina feels her legs grow weak so she makes her way over to the bed and sits down. 

A moment later Mr Beach follows. He stands right over her, crowding her where she has slumped somewhat against the pillows. 

"Regina... I need to talk to you."

She picks herself up, lifts her eyes from the nearby party to his. "Sure, sugar."

He signals to her that he is going to say something serious. He does this by removing his hat and cradling it close to his chest. He points a finger at her, wagging it, like she is a spoiled child. 

In his eyes she is. 

"I want to remind you that while you are away, there can be no hint of any scandal. Dear, a lot depends on how you conduct yourself on this trip. Dancing... Men in your cabin, it is not a good look. You know father is dead-set against our marriage. Even the slightest hint of a scandal, even the slightest, well... I don't know what I could do about it. It would have to mean the end of our engagement."

"Goodness, sugar." Regina gulps, she puts her hand over her heart like she means it, sincerely hurt by even the suggestion that she would cause such a scandal. "I know that. You don't have to tell me that."

He exhales, through his nose. His frustration that has pend up since the call from his father reaching a high. 

"I would do anything to be sailing with you," he takes her hand in his, before sitting down beside her on the bed. Looking sorry at his earlier scolding. 

She blinks heavily, eyes wide. "Me too. I don't know what I'd do in Europe without you."

"I don't know what I'd do without you either."

Looking down at their intertwined hands, where her engagement ring is pressed to hard against her middle finger by his clammy grip. "You will come for me, right? And marry me? I don't want to hear you found another blonde to whisk you away from me while I'm in Paris."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me." Mr Beach flushes pink around the apples of his cheek. 

"But I do, though." Regina insists with a pout that would have gotten her a pinch on the arm from Melina, but Mr Beach falls for it, ever flattered by the thought. 

She needs to secure this deal, no matter how stupid it might seem from the outside. 

Dr Beach will do anything within his power to convince Jim not to marry her while she is gone. If the marriage falls through, it will be a bad investment of her time.

Evidently, she had already pre-written over 50 letters to send him over the course of the trip. 

They share a goodbye kiss, one on full display in front of their guests, partly to let Jim satisfy his possessive side and on the other hand to signal that Regina plans not to pay attention to the countless men surrounding her, drooling over her, fighting for her. 

"I'll be in my room alone, counting the days until I am by your side again." She puts her fingers under his chin to tip it upwards to face her. "I'll be lonely, yes, but even though I'm lonely, there will be no other guy."

Mr Beach blinks the wetness in his eyes again. He opens his mouth to say something else, something meaningful from the trembling of his lips, but a knock on the already open door announces Melina's presence. 

"They're making the last call for the visitors to go ashore." She smiles, sardonically. "Time to go, Jim."

He sends Regina a look that is a cry for help more than anything else. She can't offer him more than a smile and hand in helping him off the bed. 

With her ever charming voice, high and breathless, she sends him out the door. "Time to go."

-

> **I'll be gloomy, but send that rainbow to me. Then my shadows will fly.**

-

"Quite a cozy place Jim got us."

Melina stumbles into the master bedroom with a drunken wobble. Regina remains seated behind her vanity, removing her jewellery one piece at a time to be neatly kept in her velvet beauty case. "Well, it was meant for him and I after all."

"Hm." Her girlfriend makes a dismissive hand motion before shutting the door behind her. "You all ready to go to bed?"

"Getting there." 

Wordlessly Melina kicks off her heels and leaves them where they thump to the floor without a care.

Regina watches her flop onto the bed and starts unbuttoning her blazer, then her blouse with clumsy motorics. It is quite the sight, watching her peel each layer of restrictive clothing from her body until she is down to her cone-shaped bra, which is when Melina gets distracted by her own impressive cleavage. 

She does look good with her breasts pushed up by her corset, which she has no chance at undoing herself when she's had one drink too many. 

With an inaudible sigh, Regina pushes herself away from the mirror to make her way back to her girlfriend.

Melina as soon as she catches Regina standing in front of her, tips up her chin, inviting her for a kiss, but Regina had just cleansed her face from her makeup and doesn't need Melina's lipstick to stain her lip balm. 

Instead of indulging her mouth, Regina wraps her hands around Melina's wrists and gently tugs her onto her feet again. 

With a grumble and a sigh, Melina follows the direction and braces herself on the bedpost while Regina reaches behind her to undo the laces of her corset. She starts with tugging the bow free and then release the tension from the first X on the top between her shoulder blades. 

"Your hands are cold." She complains as she wobbles on her bare feet. "S'that the sea?"

"No, that's you."

The cruise ship is too large for them to feel any rocking of the waves. Although Regina herself was starting to imagine that she was feeling sick while Melina had been gone all night and Regina'd spent hours looking through the porthole and watching people stroll about on deck in long dresses and black ties and the saltwater that kept crashing against the side of the ship with a relentless force. 

This is going to be a long seven days. 

"You're quiet." Melina turns around as soon as the corset pools down at her feet. She grasps onto Regina's silk robe sleeves to stay balanced. "You're not upset with me, right?"

"No." Regina says truthfully. How could she be upset with Melina for staying out and mingling? It's exactly what _she_ has been doing in trying to find them both husbands. 

Sighing, she puts her hands on Melina's hips to aid in steadying her. "Found anyone suitable for yourself yet?"

"No." Melina echoes. Her eyes are heavily hooded under the weight of her eyelashes. "T'Was just the Olympic team and some others. Just had a couple of drinks is all."

She smirks. "Just a couple huh."

This time Melina does not wait for permission to press a clumsy kiss to the corner of Regina's mouth. 

She sighs again, feigning exasperation, but actually, the touch calms down her nerves in an instant. Their closeness and the familiarity of Melina's scent and weight pressed against herself makes it easier to forget how insecure the rest of it all is. Their careers, her engagement, the wealth, the luxury rooms and the attention of men. Only one thing will last forever, when all else might crumble down around them. 

"If you think any harder your head might explode." Melina pats her cheek a little too hard, before stepping back, hitting the mattress with the back of her knees and dropping back down onto the bed in one slow tumble. 

She lands on her back with an 'oof' and gracelessly rolls onto her side to prop her head up in her hand. A drowsy smile crosses her pretty face. Her eyes remain shut in bliss.

"I think I'm drunk."

Regina bites the inside of her cheek to keep her mouth shut. "Lay back. I'll take your makeup off."

Melina hums before flopping onto her stomach. "And bra, please."

From the vanity, Regina grabs her wipes and the damp washcloth she hadn't put away yet. With both in tow, she returns to Melina's bedside and sits herself down. Pink silk pooling around her waist, she tugs her legs up to sit crossed on the mattress. 

At first, she unhooks the clasps on Melina's bra and slips it out from underneath her with very little help. 

Melina does lay onto her back obediently for Regina to rug her eyelashes free and then start rubbing the thin layers of concealer and powder from Melina's cheeks. 

It wouldn't be the first time she'll take care of Melina after a long day or a late night. 

Each time, no matter how often it has been, she appreciates every dip and curve of Melina's face. The dimples in her cheeks, the sharp corners of her eyes and the sharp tilt of her cheekbones. Her hand glides ever so gently across her girlfriends' golden skin. Truthfully, Regina wouldn't mind doing this for her every day. 

When she's finished she puts all the items on the nightstand, to be trashed later when she can be arsed. 

Right now she is too occupied running her fingers and long manicured nails through Melina's hair, tugging free any bobby pins she finds and on occasion pausing just to massage the sensitive areas of her scalp, just behind the ear and at the base of her neck.

She had been so concentrated on the task that she hadn't noticed her girlfriend has been staring up at her intently with an unexpectedly sober expression. 

"You seem genuinely sad about Jim."

Regina finds another pin and tweaks it out without pinching too harshly, although it is tempting. She isn't sad about Mr Beach not being there, she is worried that the situation is out of her control from now on. Their marriage and her secured future will depend on him coming to Paris to marry her. 

Melina wouldn't say things like that if she were sober. She jokes about them and she gets jealous, which is the tricky part of the whole dating men thing, but she never truly thinks Regina's affection lays somewhere else. 

"And you seem genuinely interested to get your hands on all of the Olympic team."

A smile melts the serious look off of Melina's face. "A few weeks alone together can only do us good... The last few weeks before you get married to another."

"Melina." Regina exhales soundly from deep within her chest. 

She tugs one of her girlfriend's hands free from where she had been clutching onto the bedding underneath her. Regina clasps her fingers within her own before bringing them to her lips to kiss the knuckles. 

"I love you and nothing else more than you."

"Don't lie." Melina whispers with the hints of a smirk tugging at her lips. 

"But it's true."

Almost feverishly Regina continues to plant a series of kisses down the back of Melina's hand, down to her wrist and arm, and back up again. 

"It is true, you, just _you_ , and nothing else."

She'd been clutching her throughout, until Melina loosens her grip to sway upright and tug herself into Regina's lap, pushing her backwards on the mattress to straddle her thighs with a surprising amount of drunken strength. 

"You love me," She gazes down at her, eyes twinkling with mirth. " _and_ the money Mr Beach will inherit from his feeble father."

Finally, Regina catches on and she too breaks out into a wide smile. 

"Only one of those knows how to wrap me around her little finger and pin me down without repercussions."

Melina swallows her chuckle when she bends over to cover her lips with her own, bare chest pressed snugly against her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed it❤️ Im excited to share more with you guys. 
> 
> And hit me up on tumblr so we can become mutuals! @emmaandorlando
> 
> Also feel free to send me asks there❤️


End file.
